1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combined container-syringe that is provided with a safety device that is used for covering the injection needle after the completion of injection and the like and ensuring safety.
2. Description of the Related Art
A combined container-syringe can be used immediately after being removed from the packaging without performing troublesome procedures at medical institutions due to the fact that the drug solution has been prefilled. Therefore, it is very convenient and useful in terms of reducing the workload on those working in the medical industry, such as physicians and nurses. For this reason, it is being adopted by many medical facilities.
When syringes are used by those in the medical industry, they have to pay attention to the treatment of the syringes so as not to accidentally inject themselves with the needle after use. For that reason, with the aim of safely processing needles after injection, a syringe has been proposed that is equipped with a safety device in the form of a cylindrical cover that prevents careless contact with the needle by covering the injection needle therewith after injection.
For example, according to the syringe that is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-29334, a safety device having flexibility is engaged on an outer circumferential surface of a cylinder, and by applying pressure to the safety device to be flexed, the engagement state is released. By pointing the injection needle upward while holding the syringe by the safety device, the syringe body moves downward by its own weight, whereby the injection needle becomes covered with the safety device.
However, in the syringe that is equipped with a conventional safety device as described above, the means that causes the safety device to move to a position that covers the needle is merely the syringe body's own weight. Due to this fact, the force of relative movement of the safety device with respect to the needle is weak, and depending on the circumstances the safety device may become caught on the syringe body in the middle of covering the injection needle. As a result, the syringe that is equipped with the conventional safety device suffers from problems because the safety device is not able to reliably cover the injection needle, whereby not ensuring safety.
The safety device may be manually moved. However, in this case, both hands have to be used such that the safety device is moved with one hand while holding the syringe body with the other hand. Therefore, since the operation requires both hands, it is complicated.
Furthermore, in the syringe that is equipped with a conventional safety device as described above, the safety device is attached to the syringe body only by friction with an engagement portion. Due to this fact, the safety device is not strongly fixed to the syringe body and the safety device is relatively easy to become removed from the syringe body. As a result, there is a problem that people involved in medical services have to pay attention to treatment of the syringes. Furthermore, it is desirable that the safety device be easily attached to a conventional syringe body.
The present invention was achieved in view of the above circumstances, and has as an object to provide a combined container-syringe that can ensure safety by reliably causing the safety device to move with respect to the syringe body to a state of covering the injection needle.
The present invention also has as an object to provide a combined container-syringe that is equipped with a safety device that can be easily attached to a syringe body and can be reliably fixed to the syringe body in a state where the safety body covers the injection needle after the completion of injection.